MMA fighter pleads no contest to assaulting fighter wife
HONOLULU (AP) — A mixed martial arts fighter has pleaded no contest in Hawaii to assaulting his wife, a fellow fighter.
Arnold Berdon entered his plea Thursday to second-degree assault.
He says he wanted to spare his family from a legal battle. He says he and his wife, Rachael Ostrovich Berdon, are divorcing. They have a daughter.
Ostrovich Berdon filed for a temporary restraining order in November, alleging her husband punched her in the face and fractured her eye socket.
She canceled a fight against Paige VanZant but later decided to go through with it, saying she was healing.
Judge Trisha Morikawa says Berdon will likely avoid jail time if he does well in a domestic violence intervention program. Sentencing is scheduled for May 16.
